115,000-year-old Neanderthal bone found in Poland

An excavation in Cave Ciemna in Poland has revealed bones of a Neanderthal believed to be over 115,000 years old, reports said.

Professor Pawel Valde-Nowak of Kraków’s Institute of Archaeology said in a report that the bones founds are the oldest human remains ever discovered yet.

“Analyses show that this is the result of passing through the digestive system of a large bird. This is the first such known example from the Ice Age” Professor Valde-Nowak said.

Scientists who were part of the excavation said a DNA analysis is no longer possible as the bones that were discovered has a porous surface. There are also reportedly tiny holes in the bones found.

“But we have no doubts that these are Neanderthal remains, because they come from a very deep layer of the cave, a few metres below the present surface. This layer also contains typical stone tools used by the Neanderthal,” Professor Valde-Nowak said.

A report said that the finger bones are believed to have belonged to a Neanderthal child. The bones, according to a report, “are less than one centimeter long and were found alongside other animal remains.”

“Neanderthals are believed to have gone extinct around 38,000 years ago, having emerged in Europe about 400,000 years ago. They were once thought of as an inferior, more brutish species to modern humans—but evidence is increasingly pointing to their sophistication,” a report read.